


Relay race

by SquidSoup



Category: Persona 2
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-08-22 23:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8304962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquidSoup/pseuds/SquidSoup
Summary: She followed Yoshizaka inside the clock tower and a story started.





	1. First Leg

Noriko walked out of the principal’s office and made her way towards the stairs, when she saw Anna Yoshizaka disappearing inside a wall with a really tall guy. She thought that was weird, and went in their direction and was surprised and embarrassed to see it was just some more stairs going upward, but as a first year she had barely explored the school, so she forgave herself for it.

Then she remembered hearing from a group of third years how dangerous the inside of the clock tower was, what with a teacher having died there ten years ago. Nobody else had due to it being constantly closed since then, but Noriko already heard enough about it being dangerous to make her shiver. And to think Yoshizaka was on her way there was suddenly terrifying.

Maybe she was on a dare? Sneaking off class to do unspeakable things with that guy? She blushed at the thought, but her idol had the right to do whatever she wanted about that, though she didn’t know why it suddenly bothered her so much. But that idea quickly disappeared with the thought that, hey, what if they were going to die there? That was not something she could allow. It didn’t occur to her how they would even get in there without the keys, but now wasn’t the time for that.

She ran upstairs and found the door locked with neither of the upperclassmen in sight, and she quickly knocked the door, trying to not make too much noise. After all, it would probably get Yoshizaka in trouble, whatever she was doing, so she managed to pull herself up to be as discreet as possible.

The door opened and Yoshizaka was there. “Come on in, Katayama” she said, making space for the younger girl to enter. Noriko did so, and inside she saw that guy from Yoshizaka’s class, sitting on the floor struggling to open a bag of chips.

“Katayama, this is Suou” said Yoshizaka, locking the door and then putting a hand on Noriko’s shoulder “You probably already know who this girl is, Tatsuya” the contact sent more shivers down Noriko’s spine, and she barely pulled out a greeting for Suou, who just nodded and silently offered her from his badly opened snacks.

“U-um, sorry for the intrusion, but what are you doing? N-not that it’s any of my business, you can do whatever you want, but if you’re going to kill yourselves please don-“ Yoshizaka’s laugh made Noriko want to be the one jumping down the gears to get crushed.

“You -pff- you were worried about that? Oh my god, Katayama, its okay! Tatsuya and I are just skipping class, we’re punks like that, he told the janitor we’d clean so he’d get the keys and we’re just lazing out, really.” She turned to face Noriko and put the other hand on her shoulder. It was the second time she smiled in front of her, and Noriko couldn’t help thinking she was really cool.

“You heard someone gossip about the dead teacher and got worried about me, you’re so sweet. Come hang out with us, Katayama, do bad kid things like doing your homework at 7pm at a club like we do” they heard Suou faintly saying something like “Anarchy” behind. “But go to class instead if that’s what you want, there’s nothing to worry about” said Yoshizaka sitting against the wall beside Suou and opening a can of soda.

Noriko stood speechless. She felt bad seconds before, but now she felt nothing but welcoming from them, in a weird way, they looked sincere. She remembered the day she represented her middle school in a city sports event for all ages, and saw who’d rapidly become her sports idol. Yoshizaka was strong and beautiful running, and when Noriko went to express her admiration (at the insistence of her friends), Yoshizaka was silent but kind, asked her name, and told her to come to Sevens to hang out.

So Noriko studied and trained, wasn’t enough of a prodigy to gain a sports scholarship, but got grades good enough to attend, and now she was doing exactly that, hanging out. She wasn’t exactly shy, but Yoshizaka was just too cool, and her friend Suou also looked cool, and her assumptions embarrassed her, thus she stood in silence, blushing until she sat down, a bit distanced from them. She finally took a chip from Suou’s bag. It was seaweed flavored.

After a while, neither of them had said much; clearly neither of the second years was talkative. Yoshizaka was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and Suou fiddled with a lighter. Noriko wondered if he smoked outside the school. She remembered one of her wild hypothesis from earlier and worried that she was interrupting something, and spent another while thinking if it was okay to even ask. They didn’t seem bothered by her, but still...

“So, uh... Are you two... A-a couple?”

Suou’s lighter closed on his finger. Yoshizaka didn’t open her eyes.

“Hey, Tatsuya, are we?”

“N... No?”

He looked distressed, as if they HAD been dating without him knowing, until he caught on Yoshizaka just playing around and went back to flicking his lighter, trying to look less awkward. Noriko couldn’t help laughing a little, both from the supposedly unfazed guy looking completely lost, but she also felt awkward relief.

Yoshizaka smiled, still with her eyes closed, and Noriko’s heart skipped a beat.

Later after school ended and the three of them ran off trying to not get reprimanded by teachers, the group went to Mu Continent and Noriko beat Suou at every fighting game available, only for Yoshizaka to beat them both at the dancing games.

They walked Noriko to her apartment complex; teaching her good excuses for her absence at class that day, and she saw Suou smile before she realized it.


	2. Second Leg

She got sent to the janitor’s room where the school nurse operated (for a school as distinguished as Sevens was they sure were taking their time repairing the infirmary) and had no choice but lie down in a dusty futon. Her head felt heavy since earlier that morning, but now it was spinning and had to be walked downstairs by a classmate whose face Noriko couldn’t distinguish.

Some time passed, and suddenly she sensed Anna sitting by her side. She was wearing the school’s tracksuit like Noriko was, but with the jacket open. She could hear the nurse scolding Suou, and deduced her friends were probably pretending to be sick to stay with her; it wouldn’t be the first time. But still, she tried to sit up, only for Anna to gently push her back down.

“You look like death down there, just relax.”

Noriko didn’t want to bother her, but couldn’t even speak, so she closed her eyes and felt Anna’s hand on her cheeks. She was suddenly thankful her face was already flushed.

At one point she felt intense warmth on her face and the sound of a bike engine before waking up in her bed at home. She heard her father scream at someone for putting her in danger. Noriko slept some more.

The next day Anna came to visit instead of going to school. She said Suou got yelled at for carrying Noriko unconscious on his bike the day before, and smiled when Noriko laughed. She drifted in and out of sleep, and each time Anna was by her side, watching over her.

She woke up at 2 in the morning; feeling lucid for the first time in two days; and found a note on her bedside with Anna’s handwriting.

_“Gotta go to the field, the race will be soon and I need to be in full form to look cool then. I’ll see you tomorrow.”_

She didn’t come the next day, or the following one, or for a week. Suou came into her room as she was reading a book, able to sit up but not much. She had seen him in pain before, but his face that day was something else entirely. He looked like he struggled to say something, like always, but it was much worse than usual.

“What happened to sis?”

* * *

Neither when she went to the hospital nor when she went to her house Noriko could get words from Anna. All her friend did was lie down in bed and look at the wall. She never once looked at her or Suou, her vacant eyes staring at who knew what.

“Come on, sis, it’s not the end! What if you can’t run anymore? You’re still sis! You can’t give up! It’s not like you!”

“...You don’t know what I'm like.”

She thought she knew Anna. Of course, not all of her, but she thought she knew her enough. Noriko found herself without words; and instead found tears on her face. She shouted that Anna was stupid and stormed out of the house crying.

She went to apologize a few days later, and was only met with apathy from her.

The days at school were suddenly emptier. Of course, she did talk to classmates, but Anna had been such a big part of her day to day that now it was like a river had dried down and only the sun’s faint rays surrounded her.

Suou was affected by Anna’s absence too, and it only made him more reclusive, though he still hung out with Noriko. It just was hard for both of them not knowing how to help their friend who had it harder than them.

“You know, Suou,” she said listening to the faint sound of the rain from the clock tower “We should go to Mu Continent again sometime, the three of us.”

He nodded; unaware of why she suddenly said that; but she didn’t really know either. Noriko couldn’t stop starting at the clock’s stained glass. She wondered how the teacher had died, and for a moment entertained the idea of getting herself crushed on the gears if it magically could make Anna happy again.

“Have... Have you ever felt like you lost something?” he said suddenly, with his eyes fixated on his lighter again. But before she could reply he said “Never mind” and looked away. Somehow she felt like they were on the same spot, in different ways.

All she wanted was to kill the man that had ran over Anna and stole her dream. She had actually come close to hunting him down and beating him, but Suou stopped her. It would only bring Anna more trouble, and she knew that.

And life moved on. The world kept spinning without Anna, and Noriko beagan to slow down too.

Until one day she heard rumors. Rumors of Anna being seen at Zodiac and unsavory places. Someone said she was seen at the abandoned factory in Konan, surrounded by strange people in blue robes. That she was seen at Kasugayama High and many other places around town a lot.

Those were mere rumors, but deep in her heart Noriko felt they were also the truth.

“Please, Suou, you have to help sister!”

 _“Because she won’t accept help from me”_ was what she didn’t say. And even then, with her heart heavy with rain and a bag heavy with Anna’s running shoes, she headed to club Zodiac for one last try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheels by Foo Fighters is a good Anna/Noriko song.


	3. Last Leg

The waves crashed against the sand and left the same way they had always done, the railing was as cold as it had always been, and Noriko’s arms rested on it like they always did. For years her running routine had her take a moment to watch the sea from afar; and that hadn’t changed despite everything.

She thought of the sea surrounding Sumaru, of how if she swam far enough she would fall off for so long, and she shuddered. The idea made her nauseous, prompting her to turn around and start walking home when all of a sudden the ground started to shake.

When Noriko came to, everything seemed normal, save for people celebrating something in the streets, but all she felt was apathy and sickness, and she tried to get up with difficulty.

A hand reached out to her and she instinctively held on to it. As soon as she was on her feet a familiar smile greeted her, and Noriko felt the sway of the waves in her chest.

“Anna...”

Anna’s face was no longer the tired, empty husk Noriko last saw. She was smiling sincerely, with a cool, strong air, looking like she could take on the world with no fear or doubt. And then she softened her gaze, squeezed Noriko’s hand and said “I’m sorry.”

Next thing she knew, Noriko was crying as Anna held her; her tears incessantly falling to the ground like a storm. Anna gently swayed her, and the world could have ended right then and there without Noriko caring for anything but the girl she loved being back.

* * *

“I don’t get any of it, but I can totally believe it.” Noriko said, sitting on Anna’s lap and listening to her telling of everything that had happened.

“Yeah, I don’t really get it either, but it’s whatever.” Anna laughed then planted a kiss on her cheek. Across the room, Suou was sitting cross-legged, while a boy rested his head on his shoulder.

“It is hard to believe...” the boy named Jun Kurosu said “But people believing the unbelievable was what got us here.”

Anna shifted a little under Noriko, and Noriko got off and sat on the bed, motioning for Anna to lie down in it and rest her head on her lap.

“What matters now is the future” Anna continued “Call me cheesy, but I’m ready to put all this shit behind and find a new calling in life.”

“Then in that respect we all are cheesy” laughed Kurosu, and Suou smiled. Noriko found peace in his smile, and she smiled too. She recalled a conversation with him, months old, and lit up.

“Hey, the four of us should all go to Mu Continent sometime!”

Suou looked at his boyfriend, who nodded and agreed, albeit with some poorly hidden caution on his voice. “That would be nice.” Suou wraped an arm around him reassuringly, making him relax.

“Babe, I’m so sorry I can no longer beat all of you at dancing games anymore” Anna said “So get ready to be totally, completely destroyed at the fighting games now.”

Noriko stuck out her tongue. “I’m really good at Heritage for the Future, you know!!”

“How about some co-op game?” blurted out Suou out of the blue. “I’m really good at Kakyoin, just so you’re warned” Kurosu told him playfully.

Outside of Noriko’s bedroom the sound of gentle rain kept going with no signs of stopping soon. She looked out of the window, and at that moment, she felt one with the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, it took a while, but I finally finished this! May or may not edit a little later, and it's short, but I feel like this is a proper conclusion to it for now. Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reasing, and any comment is appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> This was on my head for weeks so instead of working on Atonement I just? Started getting this other one out of my system. Will prolly max at 3 chapters, all on the Innocent Sin timeline. Other characters may appear but it's probably just going to be other Sevens people with possible mentions of others, idk.


End file.
